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The Bletchley Circle

The Bletchley Circle, a three-part murder mystery series, premieres Sundays, April 21-May 5, 2013, at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV/HD (DT21.1/cable 1011). It follows Susan, Millie, Lucy and Jean, ordinary women with extraordinary ability to break codes, a skill honed during World War II when they worked undercover at Bletchley Park, site of the United Kingdom’s main decryption establishment. Now, in 1952, the four have returned to civilian life, keeping their intelligence work secret from all, including family and friends. A series of ghastly murders targeting women, however, reunites the team as they set out to decode the pattern behind the crimes.

Two-time BAFTA award-winner Anna Maxwell Martin (“South Riding,” “Bleak House”) stars as Susan, now a housewife with two children, who has collected data on a series of murders and tried, unsuccessfully, to convince the police that another is imminent. Rachael Stirling (“Women in Love,” “Boy Meets Girl”) is Millie, the feistiest of the bunch, conversant in 14 languages, worldly and street smart. RADA graduate Sophie Rundle plays Lucy, a young woman equipped with a photographic memory. Julie Graham (“Lapland,” “Doc Martin”), oldest of the four, is the former head of the Bletchley Park unit.

Initially unaware of the Bletchley background, the police don’t take Susan’s theory about the crimes seriously. She quickly realizes she can crack the murders and bring the culprit to justice only with the help of her former colleagues. “He’s making a pattern and he doesn’t realize he’s doing it,” Susan tells her friends. “If we can crack it, we’ll be able to see what his next move will be. Just like knowing where the German army will be in three days’ time. We can get ahead of him and stop him before he kills again.”

Photo Credit: Laurence Cendrowicz

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